Today is Wednesday, Jan. 19, the 19th day of 2005. There are 346 days left in the year. On this date

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 19, the 19th day of 2005. There are 346 days left in the year. On this date in 1955, a presidential news conference is filmed for television for the first time, with the permission of President Eisenhower. In 1736, James Watt, inventor of the steam engine, is born in Scotland. In 1807, Robert E. Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate armies, is born in Stratford, Va. In 1809, author Edgar Allan Poe is born in Boston. In 1853, Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Il Trovatore" premieres in Rome. In 1861, Georgia secedes from the Union. In 1944, the federal government relinquishes control of the nation's railroads following settlement of a wage dispute. In 1966, Indira Gandhi is elected prime minister of India. In 1970, President Nixon nominates G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court; however, the nomination is defeated because of controversy over Carswell's past racial views. In 1977, in one of his last acts of office, President Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino, an American who'd made wartime broadcasts for Japan. In 1981, the United States and Iran sign an agreement paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months. January 19, 1980: Anthony A. Latell Jr., president of Girard City Council, defeats former Trumbull County Commissioner Gary Thompson and Champion Trustee Adrian Hovanic to win the unexpired term of Trumbull County Commissioner Walter Pestrak. Latell won on the fifth ballot of the Democratic Party Central Committee. Gold gains $100 in one day on the Hong Kong market, reaching $823 an ounce. The U.S. Economic Development Administration designates the Mahoning Valley Economic Development Corp. to speed up and get action going into the lagging efforts to revitalize the area economy with massive injections of federal money. January 19, 1965: Campbell Mayor Joseph A. Vrabel officiates at ceremonies kicking off a $2 million federal urban renewal project to clear about 38 acres in the Wilson Avenue area. The land will be redeveloped for light industrial use and Vrabel says 75 percent of the land is under commitment. N. E. Colla Jr. is re-elected to his 12th year as president of the Youngstown Barbers' Union Local 84. Michael Infante is vice president. The Ohio Controlling Board releases $1.5 million for the acquisition of about 2,600 acres to provide more recreation facilities at West Branch Reservoir in Portage County. January 19, 1955: The Kaiser Aluminum &amp; amp; Chemical Corp.'s chemical division will build a $4 million plant in Columbiana to produce basic refractories. An Appellate Court denies bail to convicted murderer Dr. Samuel H. Sheppard on the same day that his father dies and just 11 days after his mother committed suicide. Officials of St. Stephen of Hungary Church throw out the out-of-town operators who took over the church's charitable bingo game and managed to skim $73,000 in profits from the games. January 19, 1930: Youngstown Police Chief Paul Lyden says thousands of local residents are caught up in betting on the New York Clearing House pool craze that is sweeping the country. Bets placed with neighborhood bookmakers range from a penny to a dollar, with the odds of winning being one in 1,000 and the payout being 600 to one. As a precaution against the spread of spinal meningitis in Conneaut, Dr. Inez Hyatt, city health commissioner, orders 40 homes quarantined. The homes belong to 40 pupils in a first grade class of Robert Freeman, 6, who died of the disease after an illness of just a day. Over heavy and vocal opposition, Republicans in the House appropriate $15 million requested by President Hoover for enforcement of prohibition.